![]() "Rupert Murdoch, the Moby company, the Mohseni family, and the Zionists partners should know that they will take the wish to destroy the structure of Iranian families with them to the grave," Iranian Cyber Army. |
On November 17, a group calling itself the Iranian Cyber Army
reportedly hacked the website of the popular satellite channel
Farsi1.
Iranian news websites have posted
a screenshot of the hacked Farsi1 website, which includes a message posted
by the Iranian Cyber Army.
The
message wishes a "Happy Eid Ghorban" and adds, "Rupert Murdoch, the Moby
company, the Mohseni family, and the Zionists partners should know that they
will take the wish to destroy the structure of Iranian families with them to the
grave."
Farsi1, which is co-owned by Rupert Murdoch, is a joint venture between
Afghanistan's Moby Media Group, run by Saad Mohseni, and Hong Kong-based Star
TV. It airs Latin American soap operas dubbed into Persian.
Iranian officials have criticized the channel and accused it of being part of
the West's cultural invasion against the Islamic republic and seeking to corrupt
the Iranians' morals. They've also accused the channel of aiming to destroy
Iranian families -- the reason the Iranian Cyber Army gave for hacking the
channel's website.
The Iranian Cyber Army became active after Iran's disputed 2009 presidential
election, hacking a number of websites, including Twitter and several opposition
websites.
In May, a commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) seemed to suggest that
the so-called Iranian Cyber Army belonged to the IRGC.
Ebrahim Jabbari, head of the Revolutionary Guard's Ali Ebn-e Abitaleb corps in
Qom, said the IRGC had been successful in setting up the second-biggest
cyberarmy in the world.
Jabbari noted that
"the efforts by the enemy to inflict a blow on the Islamic state through various
means," adding that, "One of the means to this end is cyberspace activities, and
the Iranian Cyber Army has powerfully entered this arena to prevent any damage
to the cultural-social infrastructure of the country."
A message on the Iranian Cyber Army's website says
the group was created in protest to the interference of "American and Zionists
websites" in Iran's internal affairs and the spreading of false news. It warns
"all those involved in a soft overthrow project" that action can be taken
against them.
It doesn't mention whether or not it is affiliated with the IRGC.
In recent months, Iranian officials have increasingly stressed the need to bring
the Internet under control. The warnings seem to suggest authorities have
reached the conclusion that the country's extremely tough Internet censorship
has not been strong enough in attacking what officials deem damaging online
content or countering the growing popularity of social-networking sites.
Last week, an Iranian official said he supported hacking websites to counter
what authorities describe as the "enemy's soft war" against the Islamic
republic.
Bijan Nobaveh,
a legislator from Tehran, said, "Hacking is the easiest way, but deviating the
enemy's information in the way we want is more important. The Intelligence
Ministry and the Revolutionary Guard are very active in that area."
He also said that Iran should make more use of its "unique" Basij force to fight
the "soft war."
... Payvand News - 11/18/10 ... --